Word
Mi madre empieza a aprender jardinería hoy.
Meaning
My mother is starting to learn gardening today.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Mi madre empieza a aprender jardinería hoy.
Why do we need the word a between empieza and aprender?
In Spanish, the verb empezar (to start) requires the preposition a when it is followed by another verb. The formula for "to start doing something" is always empezar a + an infinitive verb (like aprender). You can't put the two verbs right next to each other without it!
The English translation says "is starting". Why doesn't the Spanish use está empezando?
In Spanish, the simple present tense (like empieza) is much more versatile than in English. It is very commonly used to describe actions happening right now or around the present time. While está empezando is grammatically correct, native speakers often prefer the simpler empieza to mean "is starting."
Why is it spelled empieza with an "ie"? Isn't the verb empezar?
Empezar is a stem-changing verb. In the present tense, the second e in the stem changes to ie for most subjects (like yo empiezo, tú empiezas, ella empieza). The only exceptions are the "we" and "you all" forms, which keep the original vowel (like nosotros empezamos).
Shouldn't it be aprender la jardinería? I thought Spanish used articles for general concepts.